Idaho State Senator District 29
Click a candidate icon to find more information about the candidate. To compare two candidates, click the "compare" button. To start over, click a candidate icon.
-
James Ruchti
(Dem)
1. What do you hope to accomplish if elected?
2. What experience has prepared you for this office?
3 What do you see as the most significant challenges Idaho faces that you might be able to address in this position?
4. Would you support legislation to remove criminal liability for physicians and pregnant women experiencing life threatening pregnancy complications and allow for medical and family decisions regarding continuation of that pregnancy? Please explain your response.
5. Is there anything else you would like to tell the voters?
Term
(208) 251-4104
Campaign Phone
2082514104
My main goal is to stop vouchers from getting a foothold in Idaho. Vouchers will siphon taxpayer money away from our public schools and send them to private schools, religious schools and home schools with no accountability for how those dollars are spent. Our public school system will then have to compete for financial support with the voucher program, which will especially harm our rural school districts.
Interestingly enough, my time at West Point and in the military prepared me for the Idaho Legislature. I learned what it was like to be thrown into an organization with people you did not choose who came from different backgrounds and had different opinions, but that you had to work with to accomplish a common mission. Every session, I work with legislators from all over Idaho to fund state government and to come up with policy that serves our constituents and state interests. My experience as a trial lawyer has also served me well. As a trial lawyer, I am used to taking complicated subjects, breaking them down and then explaining them to juries. I have to do something similar as a state senator.
Idaho faces several challenges. First, special interest groups are trying to push vouchers in Idaho so they can benefit financially by selling curriculum or some other product or service. Vouchers would be a disaster for our public school system. Second, our growth is creating challenges for Idaho’s infrastructure. Whether it’s highways and bridges, school facilities or our health and welfare system, more population means more people using our infrastructure. We have to make sure we are prepared for the future and need to know whether the additional tax money that comes with increased populations is enough to pay for the increased use of the infrastructure. Third, I am concerned that extremism and racism is on the rise in Idaho.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Our reproductive health policy in Idaho is going to drive young families away from Idaho by driving OB/GYN physicians away from Idaho. If young families can’t find qualified physicians in their communities to provide them care during pregnancy and childbirth, those families will start their families somewhere else. Physicians should be supported in their efforts to support and treat their patients, not threatened with jail time and lawsuits. Patients are being advised to buy life flight memberships in case they need to be flown out of state for lifesaving care. Any pregnancy can become medically dangerous to the mother at any time. Those who have pushed for Idaho’s approach to abortion misunderstand that basic reality.
As your state senator, I am here to serve our community and ensure that your voice is heard in Boise. I encourage everyone to engage, express their concerns, and participate in the democratic process. It is essential for a functioning democracy.
To make a selection for a candidate you must first find your races. Would you like to find your races now?
You have already selected the maximum number of candidates for this race.
You must uncheck an existing selection before making another selection.